MUMBAI: Telecom major Bharti Airtel,
which has operations in 20 countries
across Asia and Africa, has signed a
definitive agreement to acquire
Augere Wireless Broadband India.
Acquisition of Augere, which holds 20
MHz of BWA spectrum in the telecom
circle of Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh, will help Airtel to
strengthen its recently launched 4G
services ahead of the launch of
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio
Infocomm.
“Upon acquisition, Augere will become
a wholly owned subsidiary of Airtel.
The acquisition is subject to
necessary statutory and regulatory
approvals,” Airtel said in a statement.
While the deal size is not disclosed,
media reports suggest that it could be
around Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.50 billion).
Augere had picked up the 4G spectrum
in the two states for Rs 122.46 crore
(Rs 1.22 billion) in the auctions in
2010.
France Telecom owns Augere along
with a clutch of PE funds such as New
Silk Route and Harbinger Capital.
While Augere had announced that it
will launch 4G services in 2011, it
shelved the plans due to regulatory
concerns and started looking for
buyers.
http://www.televisionpost.com/technology/airtel-acquires-augere-wireless-to-strengthen-4g-service/